Curiosity Killed the Cat
by icecreampuff
Summary: Shinichi and Ran are my best friends. On a night out with them, Shinichi gets into trouble again, except this time, he dragged me into it! ShinichiXOC rated T for some language DISCONTINUED AND UP FOR ADOPTION
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Sorry if you've been waiting for me to update my other two stories, but I've kind of lost interest slightly. I'll be getting back to Now You See Me most likely sometime mid-August. From there, I'll start to put up some chapters of What Would You Do if everything goes well. To be honest, I've already written a little bit of this story, so I'm going to keep that part as is for now, meaning I'm going to just put up an introduction outside of the story. That's how I wrote it, and it's pretty late so I don't want to change it now. I may go back over it and rewrite it later, but not yet. For now, I hope you like this story, but I'm honestly not planning to go far with it, but if it does go anywhere, there will be very long periods of hiatus. Please enjoy!

Oh! That's right, I'll be using Japanese honorifics in this, but if you don't understand one, let me know! I'll also leave translations for the less obvious ones at the bottom of the chapter as they are introduced.

* * *

Name: Kana Inoue

Age: 17

Likes: Swimming, cats, detective stories, and video games.

Dislikes: Uncleanliness, weak dedication,and laziness.

Family: Akira Inoue (mom)

Akari Inoue (dad)

Ryo Inoue (brother)

Other: Kana is _very _close to her family. Most of her time is spent either with them, or with Ran and Shinichi. Shinichi, Ran, and Kana are also very good friends, though she spends more time goofing around than anything else. Kana has a love of cats, and owns a total of 6. Kana has always been known to love the number 7, and has kept 7 cats up until the time the oldest died about 2 weeks prior to our story. Kana spent those two weeks mourning her beloved cat, and has been meaning to stop moping and get a new cat, for which she is very excited. Kana, being the caring girl she is, has decided to always adopt older cats, since most people will adopt a kitten and the older cats will be put down when they aren't picked, so she is planning on getting a kitten this time around (it'll only be the second kitten she's adopted).

When Kana moved to Beika, she was extremely shy, and the first person to approach her was Ran, sparking an everlasting friendship between the two. After becoming friends with Ran, the female population of the school became much friendlier and Kana was instantaneously popular among the school once she was coaxed out of her shell. Ran convinced her to join the karate club, and they bonded over practice(and the ice cream that came afterwards). Three years later and they are the closest of friends. Having been introduced to Shinichi by Ran, news of her popularity (and appearance) spread to the small portion of the school who hadn't been aware and soon the entire school was her friend.

Kana is a member of the Disciplinary committee and takes pride in the work she does for her school to keep it polished and running properly. Every Sunday Kana volunteers at the local animal shelter.

Like Shinichi, she has a love of Detective stories. However, she's not much of a detective herself. She actually likes it better when the ending is a surprise, so she doesn't usually even try to figure it out. That's not to say she's dumb, though. Kana has one of the top ten scores in the school on both exams and semester grades. She is a quick learner, and finds it easy to understand most things. She isn't all that great at detective work, but she catches a few things from time to time.

Kana is also known to be kind of paranoid. She's skittish and always thinks of the worst things that might happen and tries to prevent them. She joined Ran for karate, but she isn't anywhere near as good as Ran is. Kana only joined for self-defense classes.

And so the story starts...

* * *

_'shulp, shulp'_

"Mmmm..." I opened eyes as I awaken, glancing at the alarm clock reading 4:13 on my bedside table. I brought my hands up to my face to rub the sleep out of my eyes, turning toward the brown tabby which had interrupted my slumber by licking my cheek. I sat up, picking up the tabby, Princess William, and nuzzled her affectionately, murmuring, "Good morning, Princess."

I swung my legs off the side of the bed and stood, carrying Princess to the bathroom, setting her down on the fluffy purple rug. I continued to brush her teeth and hair. When I was finished, I walked out into my room again and put on my school uniform. I lifted up Princess William, who was rubbing against my leg, and gave her a kiss on her forehead and held her close. With another kiss, I put her down gently on the carpet.

Today was an important day. Today was the day I was going to Tropical Land with Ran and Shinichi. First, though, I had to go to school. I quickly made my way downstairs where my family sat on their knees around the table. I plopped down on the side in between Papa and Ryo. I scarfed down the rice and fish Mama had prepared for breakfast.

"Excited about tonight?" Papa chortled. I nodded, stuffing more rice in my mouth. Then I got up and grabbed my school back, then left to slip on my shoes.

"I'm off!" I said as I ran out the door. I headed toward school where I would meet up with my two best friends.

"Oi, Ran-chan! Shin-chan! Wait up!" I ran to catch up with them. Shinichi, who had just kicked a soccer ball, looked at me. Ran waved. They seemed to be talking about something.

"...Just like Holmes - he enjoyed fencing!" Shinichi said.

"That's only in a story," Ran refuted.

"But he's a famous detective that everyone knows! He's amazing! No matter what the situation is, he remains calm. He has the knowledge and principle. His sharp observations and deductions are first-class. His violin skill is also brilliant and matches that of a professional! Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a novelist, Sherlock Holmes is the world's best detective!"

"If you like it so much, why don't you become a mystery writer, like your dad? Wouldn't that be better?"

"Oh, Ran! You know that's not an option. I mean, where's the fun in writing about a detective when you could BE a detective?" I commented. Ran is always saying things like that, and Shinichi always answers in the same way.

"That's right. I want to become the Sherlock Holmes of the nineties! The feeling of forcing a criminal into a corner... it's really exciting! You only need to be a detective once... then you'll know how it feels!" Shinichi pulled a handful of letters from his pocket. "Look! These are all letters written by detective fans! See how popular detectives are?"

"But your mind is probably full of girls. Why don't you be serious about just one?" Ran wondered.

"Serious with just one?" Shinichi looks thoughtful, then looks at me, slightly blushing.

"Huh? What are you looking at me for, Shin-chan?" I looked up at his curiously.

"Eh? N-no reason! If we don't h-hurry, we'll be late!" Shinichi started to jog away.

"Ah, wait!"

"Today's promise. Did you forget?"

"Today's promise?"

"Didn't we agree that if I won the karate championships, you'd take Kana-chan and I to Tropical Land?!" Ran shouts, throwing kicks at Shinichi. He dodges them all, but then she hit him with her school bag.

"I... remember..."

* * *

That afternoon, Shinichi took Ran and I out to Tropical Land like she wanted. She must have wanted me to come so we can all have fun together...

"Look, Kana-chan! There's still places on the Mystery Coaster. Let's go!"

...or maybe she just brought me along to torment me.

"Bu-but Ran-chan, uh, I'm too scared to go there... It looks pretty spooky, you know?"

Ran just smiled and pulled me along. We walked in and got to the end of the line.

"Speaking of the amazing skills of Holmes, when he first met his assistant Watson, with only a handshake he knew that Watson was a military doctor. Just like this." Shinichi reached out an took the hand of the woman in front of us. Of course I knew what he meant, as I had read those books enough, but I'd rather let Shinichi have fun than interrupt him with something so silly. He looked so happy to be talking about it. "You're a well-trained gymnast, right?" He asked.

"H-how do you know?"

"Is he your friend, Hitomi?"

Ran looks between Shinichi and the woman.

"It's because of the blisters on her hand! When a woman has a lot of blisters on her hand, then she must have been constantly gripping metal bars or something similar."

"But you'd get blisters playing tennis, too!"

Well, the truth is, when the wind blew up her skirt, I accidentally saw it. People who have to practice on the parallel bars would have strange bruises on their thighs!"

"You already knew from the start. That's just cheating!"

"Shin-chan, how long are you going to hold her hand?" I asked.

"Oh..." He lets go. "Right!" Then a man walks up and starts to yell in Shinichi's face.

"Hey! You separated us from our friends!"

"Are you friends? If so, shall I give out places to you?" Shinichi asks looking at the two women in front of us.

"No, that's fine."

"We shouldn't bother Aiko and Kishida-kun."

"Shin-chan!" I tugged on Shinichi's sleeve. He seemed to be spacing out again. "Look, Ran-chan saw a place in front." He nods and the two of us follow Ran. Shinichi and I sit in one row and Ran sits in front of Shinichi. He's telling her about Holmes again.

"Then, after that time, Holmes... Did you know? That Conan Doyle was going to say that thing about Holmes-"

"Can you give it a rest!? I don't care about Holmes or Conan Doyle! You're an annoying Detective NERD!" Ran suddenly yells.

"Hey, Shin-chan, if you want to talk about Detective stories, why don't you just call me later? I don't think Ran-chan finds it very interesting." I smile at Shinichi nervously. Then Ran starts laughing.

"Silly! What are you two so nervous about? You should know that I'm only pretending! If you fell for it so easily, how can you be a detective?" Ran asks just as the coaster starts. "But I was really looking forward to this! A day with my two best friends!"

"Are you sure you weren't just looking to petrify me? I'm, scared of heights, you know!" I grab onto Shinichi's hand and squeeze it.

"That was only part of the reason, Kana-chaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Ran screams as the coaster drops.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I cry, holding tight onto Shinichi's hand.

"OH GOD AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I wail, monsters popping out at me in the dark tunnel. When we exit, Shinichi looks behind. I follow his gaze and find the man who was yelling at Shinichi earlier has lost his head!

"THERE'S BLOOD EVERYWHERE! KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" To make it worse, the coaster is still going as blood spurts from the man's neck.

When we get off the coaster, the police are arriving. Shinichi runs off to who knows where while Ran and I step off to give the inspectors some room.

"I-I can't believe... some-something like this..." I'm holding Ran's hand for comfort.

"It was only an accident. We have somewhere to be," said a man with long hair.

"You're wrong! It was murder! Also, the criminal was sitting among us in the same vehicle as the victim. The murderer is among us 7 people." Shinichi appeared. I rushed over to him.

"Where the heck did you go? For all I know, you could've been murdered too!" I told him.

"Is what you just said true, Kudo-kun?!" The inspector asked. Everyone looks up and Shinichi with awe.

"In other words, excluding you, Ran-kun, and Kana-kun, the criminal is among those four people!" The inspector said as he discussed the layout with Shinichi. A knife was found in the victim's girlfriend's purse, and she is assumed to be the killer.

"Can you wait a moment, Inspector Megure? She isn't the murderer!"

"Eh?! Then, who is it?"

"There is always only one truth! The culprit is.. you!" Shinichi points at the gymnast that he shook hands with earlier. She is silent, but then..

"What are you talking about?! The knife is in Aiko's handbag!"

"There is no way that knife can decapitate someone! Plus, considering a woman's strength, it would be impossible! You wanted to frame Aiko-san, so you put a knife in her handbag earlier."

"But she was sitting at the front of the coaster. Doesn't that make it impossible?" Megure asked.

"If you use the speed of the coaster and a piano wire or metal hoop, then it becomes possible!" Shinichi replied. He then used Megure and some policemen to recreate the murder scene and explain what happened.

"Where's your evidence?!" the woman asked.

"Where's your necklace? You were wearing a pearl necklace before you got on the roller coaster! Is this part of it?" He holds out a plastic bag with a few pearls and a hook inside.

"There's also another piece of evidence. Your tears. You knew the victim was going to die, so you started to cry before you killed him. There are still traces of tears on your face. If you didn't start while riding the coaster, the tears shouldn't be flowing sideways." The woman then fell on her knees and started to cry. She confessed as she cried. Even Ran and I started crying at the story. I was really sobbing loud, clinging to Ran as we cried on each other.

We walked out of the attraction together.

"Oi, oi, stop crying!" Shinichi said to Ran and me who were still rubbing our eyes.

"How can you not be crying? Not even a little?" I asked, drying my tears. I'm not quite as sensitive as Ran is.

"I've been to many of these types of scenes so I'm used to them!"

"How terrible!" Ran cried.

"I could never get used to something like that..." I added.

"You two had better forget it! Get used to it. This kind of thing happens all the time."

"No, they don't!" Ran told him.

"Sorry, Ran, Kana, can you head back without me?" Shinichi started to run off.

"Oi, wait!" I said, running after him. Ran tried to do the same, but stopped when her shoelace broke. "Sorry! I'll take care of him!" I waved as I headed after him. Even though I said that, I quickly lost him. I just couldn't keep up. I soon found him, though. He was lying face down next to two men who had been on the coaster with us.

"You were followed by this kid!" said the one with long hair.

"Shinichi!" I cried, running up to him.

"Big brother, isn't that the detective? Let's kill him! And her, too." The short one pulled a gun out of his jacket. Uh oh... Looks like I'm in trouble! The one with long hair grabs my wrist and twists my arm behind my back.

"Wait! The police are still nearby. Use this." He pulls out a case. "It's a new poisonous drug from the organization... Once the poison is consumed, there is no way that it can be detected on the corpse. We haven't tested it on human beings, so let's experiment on these two!" The tall man with long hair bashes my head against the wall, and I grow faint. He puts something in my mouth and pours in some water, then does the same to Shinichi. He drops me on the ground.

"Goodbye, Great Detective..." The two of them run away. I start to feel hot, then my hearing gets worse. It's like being underwater. I can't hear anything, but i feel a warm fluid dripping down my face from my ear. It's painful. My whole body hurts. Now it feels like I'm on fire! I feel so hot. I can't breathe! I start gasping in breath, but I feel like I'm not getting any air. My whole body feels like it's been put in a kiln. I would swear I was melting if I wasn't so sure it was impossible. Everything goes dark.

* * *

When I come to, it's still dark out. I try getting up, but for some reason, I can't get onto my feet. I'm on all fours, but it feels... natural? When I try to stand up straight, I only get pulled back down again. I've never had this much trouble standing up, but I can't walk around on all fours. I try to look around, but trip on something. I'm surrounded by cloth? These look like... my clothes! Am I naked or something?! I look down at my body.

"_What?! What's up with all this fur?!"_ I yell. I hear something to my side. It's a little kid, but... it looks like... Shinichi? No, that can't be right... This just keeps getting weirder!

"_Oi! Kid! What the heck are you doing in Shin-chan's clothes?!"_ He doesn't see me. Some policemen are talking to him.

_"Hey, are you listening? I'm talking to you!" _He says nothing, but picks me up.

Wait...HUH?!

"_I'm a grown woman! How can you pick me up so easily? You must be incredibly strong! Actually, you seem real big for a child... What's up with that? Well, you don't seem bad, so you should take me with you. I'm having a hard time walking on two feet right now..."_

The policemen are still talking, but now they are focused on a radio. They're saying something about an injured boy and a kitten. I see the boy, but no kitten. What are these idiots saying? Before I can think about it more, I am being held against the little boy's chest and we are moving fast. Looking down, I feel like I'm in a car! The ground is passing so quickly.

As he's running, it starts to rain. He's heading down some streets I'm familiar with, as I often travel this road on my way to Shinichi's house. The boy trips in front of a glass door and the two of us tumble onto the sidewalk.

_"Oww.. Don't run if you're going to drop me!"_ I get on four legs again, but the boy is still. I follow his gaze at the door. I'm looking at the proof, but I don't believe it! In place of my reflection is a small kitten! I look at my arms and see... paws?! I must be going crazy! What is this?!

"My body has shrunk! Why? Could it have been caused by... Could those drugs have caused this?" He looks down at me. "Kana was also given the drug... you were in her clothes... Kana?"

I nod in answer to his question.

Wait, so... So, then, this boy... It's really... Shinichi?

_"Shin-chan?"_

Shinichi picks me up again and starts to run down the rest of the roads to his house. When we get there, he sets me on the ground and jumps to open the gate. Suddenly, there's an explosion from next door. Shinichi runs to the hole in the wall that Professor Agasa has just fallen out of. I try my best to run after him, but my legs are so short and confusing! I fall down every time I try to walk. I'm not getting anywhere like this! I can't even step forward, but it seems like Shinichi is trying to convince Agasa that he's really himself. I can't make it to where they are yet, so I just try to stay on my feet for a while. I keep falling.

Soon, I feel the ground falling. Or is it me who's rising? Agasa picked me up.

"If you're Shinichi, who is this?" He asked.

_"It's me! It's Kana!"_ I shout.

"That's Kana. I think. She can't speak, so I can only assume..." Shinichi says as Agasa lets us into Shinichi's house.

* * *

"Is that right? The drug those men in black tested on you had a unique effect and it has made your body shrink. But it made Kana into a kitten... Oh! Now that I think of it, this is perfect for my new invention!" Agasa pulls a collar out of his pocket. "It's supposed to translate an animal's noises into Japanese, so let's see if it works!" I listen from my spot sitting on the desk.

Agasa puts the collar around my neck.

"Ow! That's too tight, Professor!"

He and Shinichi gasp.

"Kana! It really is you!" Shinichi rushes to me.

"Yes! Of course it's me. Please, Shin-chan, can you loosen my collar a bit?" I pleaded. "Man, it's nice to talk again! By the way, you look adorable, Shin-chan! I can't believe you still have that uniform."

"Yeah, you look even cuter. You're a kitten," he said, loosening my collar.

"Aw, stop it. You're making me blush~!"

"I meant it literally. Now, Professor, we're counting on you! Make a drug that can turn us back to normal!" Shinichi whined.

"That's ridiculous! I don't even know the original drug's chemical basis. And it has to be two different drugs since you turned into something different," Agasa insisted.

"Then I'll find those people, get the drugs, and give them to you!"

"Well, that may be useful."

"I doubt it will be that easy, you guys. Those guys beat us before, right? and we don't even have Ran-chan on our side!"

"Listen, you two. If those men in black knew you were still alive, they would definitely come and kill you! We must keep this a secret between us three! You must not tell anyone else! Not even Ran-kun!"

Just as he says it, Ran's voice comes from the corridor.

"Shinichi? Are you home? Did Kana-chan come with you?"

"It's Ran!"

"Quick! Hide me!" I cry. "I'm too scared to jump off this desk! It's... so very high!"

Shinichi grabs me from the desktop and we hide behind it.

"If you're back, why didn't you pick up the phone? Professor Agasa? Where's Shinichi?"

Shinichi looks around and puts me on the ground. He goes toward the bottom drawer and puts on some glasses. I laugh as he hits his head on the desk. He turns around and pops the lenses out. Ran is right behind him! She turns him around.

"This kid... he's so cute!" she said, hugging him.

"Mew!"

"Oh! A kitten!" Ran picks me up. I've always been good at cat impressions. "Adorable! Who are these two?"

Agasa gives some excuse about being his relative and that I'm just Shinichi's cat.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"My name is Shin.. No... It's... Conan! My name is Edogawa Conan!"

"Conan? What a strange name."

"It's because my dad is a fan of Conan Doyle's novels, so..."

"I think you look a lot like Shinichi! And this kitten?"

"That's my cat... uh... Niki!*"

"Oh yeah, Ran-kun! Sorry about this, but can you take this child and let him live with you for a little while?" Outraged, Shinichi - no, Conan jumps on Agasa, but he silences him. "This child's parents are in the hospital because of an accident, so they asked me to look after him, but I'm a single man..."

"I can do it!" Ran stands with me still in her arms. "But I'll need to check with my dad first."

"Really? Could you do that? That's great, Conan." The professor and Conan started whispering to each other. Damn these short legs! I wish I could join the conversation.

* * *

On the way to Ran's house, she held Conan's hand while I was in his other arm. She asked Conan if he had a girl he liked, to which he replied no. He asked her the same, and she also said no. I don't really think Shinichi was being truthful. I'm good at telling when someone is lying. At least, as long as they aren't a really good liar, that is.

"So, you like cats, huh? I have a friend that really loves them," Ran said. That's me! Now that I think of it, I'm a cat! I'm actually a little happier. I mean, what if I'd turned into a dog instead? Ew!

"Oh, uh, yeah. I love cats!" Conan replies.

It feels weird to have someone talk about me when I'm right there.

"I live right here! I feel like I've got a cute little brother," Ran said as she stopped in front of her place. "I can tell Conan anything! I'll introduce you to my dad. Come on."

Conan didn't follow at first, but when he started to move along...

"I'm coming! I'm coming! I'm coming!" Ran's father stormed down the stairs. The three of us made it out of the way, thankfully. This new body isn't very sturdy.

"The first job in six months!" he cried. "A rich man's daughter has been kidnapped! A witness said that the kidnapper was a man in black!"

A man in black? That might just be the men who attacked me and Shinichi! No, I mean Conan!

Kogoro hailed a taxi. Conan jumped into the taxi with me and Ran followed.

"The case is calling me, the Great Detective, Mouri Kogoro! Why are you in the car!?" he looked at us.

"It's because this child came in on his own!"

"A car, a car, wow!"

"Who is he? Is that a cat?!" Kogoro yelled at us.

"Meowwww!"

"He's Professor Agasa's relative."

"You'll get in the way of my work! Get out of the car now!"

"How can we do that? We're on the highway!"

* * *

I'm going to end it here. Yes, a VERY long intro chapter. I just couldn't find a spot to stop at... Don't expect too much from this story. It will eventually be discontinued, I think, sooner rather than later. Sorry, but Detective Conan is wayyy too long for me to write it all. It took me four years just to get to episode 330, so I don't really think I'll spend much time with this. If you like the idea and want to continue it, feel free. PM me and let me know, and I'll hand it over. I doubt anyone will want it, though. I was thinking I may do something clever like make it so Kana was transformed into a very rare form because of a mutation in her blood and something about her being a newborn kitten because she was aged back too, but I don't think I'll get that far.

* Etsuko Niki is a Japanese mystery writer. I couldn't find any translated works, but oddly enough, a lot of her novels have cats on the cover! One is even named "Only The Cat Knows." I picked her randomly of a list of Japanese mystery writers, so its a big coincidence! Weird, right?


	2. Chapter 2

As I said, not planning much with this. However, I'd like to enjoy writing it for now. I'm thinking that a lot of the cases will be cut out. Like, Niki would be left at home because she's a cat. You can't take a cat to a restaurant or to a hospital and things like that. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Also, if you didn't catch it before, when Niki speaks _"Like this"_ it means she is meowing and no one can understand her. if it says "Mew!" that means she can speak Japanese but she isn't for fear of being discovered.

Oh, also, for my friend waitingfox22 who has never seen Detective Conan, I will provide a little detail. In this case, The butler explained that Akiko was playing outside when a man in black came into the garden, took the girl, and said "tell the master of this house that if he wants to see his daughter again, he'll close his company for a month!" Then Tani says later that the criminal also called him just then to demand 300 million yen as well. The maids said that aside from the butler shouting "Akiko was kidnapped!" they didn't hear anything.

* * *

As we arrive at the scene of the crime, Conan puts me down. I guess he's focusing on the case. In the mean time, I'll try to walk on these weird legs! I bet I'll be running in no time! I stand up on my wobbly limbs.

All right! I just have to take it slow. One foot in front of the other. Well, no, I guess cats use two feet at a time. Thinking about it wont get me anywhere, right? I'll just have to try it out myself.

I try walking, and now that I'm used to this little body, it's easy! It comes to me, like an instinct almost. Soon I was tearing across the lawn.

As I'm running, I'm having so much fun that I'm not looking where I'm going. A large Great Dane comes out of nowhere and barks at me!"

"KYAAAAAAHHHHH!" I scream.

"A scream?" someone says.

"That almost sounds like Kana-chan..." Ran observed.

"Niki!" shouted Conan.

I thought I was going to be eaten, but the dog just sits down and licks my fur.

"Meww!" I said as an afterthought. Hopefully my slip from before can be thought to be a cat's scream...

Conan picks me up, but the Great Dane is now licking his face. It seems quite friendly. The dog is mesmerized by the ball in Conan's other hand, spinning on one finger.

"How strange! Jumbo is usually only friendly to people within the household," said the house's owner. Conan turned to him.

"This dog will bark if it sees a stranger, right?"

"Right, because Jumbo is one of the best guard dogs around."

There was a pause and the butler who reported the kidnapping was trying to sneak away by the looks of it. Kogoro rounded on him and questioned him roughly.

"Where are you going, Aso-san? There are a lot of questionable points in what you've said. If the kidnapper came into the garden using the pine tree and took the girl, why didn't that dog bark at him?"

"Th-that's because..."

It went on like this, Kogoro grilling the butler. In the mean time, I was looking up at Conan trying to get his attention. I paw at his face and he looks down questioningly.

"Conan... I'm hungry," I whisper.

"Huh? What do you want from me? Cat food?"

"Conan! I will not be eating any cat food! Get me something good to eat! Tell them I _have_ to eat human food! Anything works, just get me some real food!" I hushed.

"Alright, alright! I'll get you something good. Just wait until dinner."

"Mew!"

As Conan watches the scene unfold, however, his face changes. He looks serious. The butler said he had no partners, but some parts of the case just haven't fallen into place. I can't put my finger on it, but something's real fishy!

Owner Tani then gets a phone call. He seems surprised. I jump out of Conan's arms and, while Tani is busy, I climb up his back to listen in on the phone call.

"Do you have the 3 million dollars ready?" said the man on the other line.

"Who are you?!"

"Didn't I just call you? I'm the man who kidnapped your daughter!"

"That's impossible! The criminal has already..."

"Papa! Help me!" It's the voice of a little girl.

"Akiko!"

"My patience is running thin. If you don't provide the 3 million in time, who knows what might happen to your daughter?"

"Please! I'll get the money!" Tani fell to his knees. "Can you just let Akiko return home safely?" Kogoro leaned over his other shoulder.

"Keep talking to him. Try to make him tell us the location," Kogoro whispered.

"His location?"

"Who is there with you?" said the man on the phone. "It wouldn't be the police, would it?"

"N-no! He isn't with the police!"

"Papa, I'm in a school's storage room!" Akiko pipes up. "There's a big chimney outside the window- ngh!"

"I'll phone you in an hour! By that time, you'd better have the money!" Then the line drops dead. I jump off Tani's shoulder and head back to Conan. Good thing I didn't get caught!

"Conan!" I hissed quietly. "The little girl is being held in a school storage room. She says there's a big chimney outside the window."

"Tanks Niki," Conan said. I don't know where he got it, but he took a map out of his pocket. I climb up onto his shoulder.

"Ow! Thanks for clawing up my leg, Niki," he said sarcastically.

"Sorry, sorry. Just wear long pants!"

"What are you doing, Conan-kun?" Ran came from behind.

"Eep!" I shrilled. Conan turned to her.

"It hasn't been long since the time of the kidnapping. I'm sure they must be somewhere nearby."

While Kogoro is musing about a possible school nearby, Conan hops up on Jumbo's back and Jumbo starts running.

"Mewwwwwww!" I cry, careful not to scream like last time. There should be an on/off switch on this thing! Then I could just turn it off when I'm not talking. Speaking of on/off switches, I haven't actually checked for one. I feel around on the collar for a switch. There it is! I turn off the translation collar.

_"Can you hear me? No? Great!"_ I said to Conan from his shoulder. _"This actually isn't so bad. It's kind of relaxing."_

Conan rides Jumbo all around, but we can't seem to find the eight place. I kind of doubt that she was seeing exactly what she told us. We head around a tall building.

"That's it! Seeing it from the side, she mistook this building for a chimney!" Conan said happily.

_"Huh. I guess you're right!"_ I agreed.

"Futatsubashi school!" Conan said, steering Jumbo away from the building. He has a habit of completing his thoughts aloud, just like always.

When we arrive at the school, the kidnapper is pulling a dagger out of it's sheath.

"Wait!" Conan calls.

"Who's there?!"

"Here!" Conan let's Jumbo loose on the kidnapper, who crashes into a ball holder. We approach Akiko and he pulls the tape off of her mouth.

"It's okay now."

"Who are you?"

"Kudo Shinichi-no, Edogawa Conan. I'm a detective."

"A detective?"

But soon, Jumbo's whimpering fills the room. He was chased off!

"You little devil!" The kidnapper raises a baseball bat above his head, so we scurry out of the way. Conan tries to kick him, but is blocked and thrown against some soccer balls.

I hurry up the man's clothes and do my best to scratch his face up.

_"Don't you dare hurt him! I'll mess you up, son!" _I scream, clawing at his eyes.

"Damn!" He grabs the scruff of my neck, and my body curls up.

_"Shit... You bastard... That's cheating..."_ is all I can say before he threw me at Conan. Conan caught me before I could really get hurt, and sets me on the floor. Conan tries kicking a soccer ball at him, but the ball is caught. Not good!

The kidnapper rushes us with his bat raised, and swings right into Conan's stomach.

"The game is over! I'll kill you!"

"Stop!"

I switch my collar back on and scream as loud as I can.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" I shout. I hope it's good enough to draw attention. The kidnapper loos around, thinking someone else is in the room, but sees nothing. I can't hold notes for nearly as long as I could before! This is bad! I'm out of breath and I can't even scream now! The man starts to bring down the baseball bat, but he is stopped.

"Ran-chan!" I cry happily. Ran is here! She'll save Conan! Uh oh. Ran's here! I better turn my collar off.

Ran easily takes down the kidnapper with a flurry of punches and kicks. What a gal! She's way better than I've ever been at karate, so I'm glad it was me and not her who got turned into a cat. Once he was down, Ran untied Akiko.

"How did you know we were here?" Conan asked as I ran toward him.

"I followed you as far as I could, and then I saw Jumbo come out of this place," she replied.

_"Meow! I'm so happy you found us! Shinichi is safe thanks to you! I mean Conan. Whatever!"_

Jumbo came running back in with Kogoro in tow.

"Jumbo!" Akiko hugs and pets her dog. I try climbing onto Conan but this time, I jump onto his shorts so I don't hurt him with my claws.

"The criminal has been caught by me, the Great Detective, Mouri Kogoro!"

In the end, Akiko confessed that she had planned the first kidnapping. She wanted her father to close his company for a month so that he would have time to play with her. Then, with the case solved, we all headed back to Ran's house.

"So, Dad, about this child and his cat... Professor Agasa wants them to live with us. It's not okay? I knew it..."

"Okay, okay! While he was here, I got and solved this case easily! He might be my lucky charm! We'll see how things go, and I'll even take him as my son! Bahahahaha!" Kogoro does that weird laugh of his.

_"I'm still hungry..."_

* * *

Hey! So, I kind of doubt that I'll write anymore. I like this story, but it's just too much work along with two other stories. I want to get on and focus on WWYD before school starts and then get a move on with NYSM. Three stories is a little much, plus Detective Conan is like 800 episodes. No thanks! Haha, I had fun with it while it lasted, but I can tell I won't really be able to take this story to the heights it needs to go to. I'm not that dedicated! So, as of now, this story is up for adoption! Thanks to all who read this and liked it, and I'm sorry I couldn't take it farther.


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